| “ | Mayan unique fast-moving archer. | ” |
| —Age of Empires II description | ||
The Plumed Archer is the unique unit of the Maya in Age of Empires II: The Conquerors. It is a fast, well armored foot archer. Its comparatively high base cost is reduced by the Mayans' civilization bonus, making it one of the most cost-effective archers.
Plumed Archers can be upgraded to Elite Plumed Archers in the Imperial Age.
Tactics[]
Compared to most archers, Plumed Archers have a lower range in the Castle Age and lower attack in the Imperial Age, but have much higher Hit points and a higher movement speed, enough to even keep up with some cavalry. This allows them to perform hit-and-run tactics and effectively replace the Cavalry Archer for the Mayan civilization. Plumed Archers are effective against most infantry units in the game due to their attack bonus against infantry. Additionally, their high speed and hit points also make them much better at handling enemy cavalry and siege than the standard Archer line, though their lower attack compared to the Arbalester makes them less effective against Paladins.
They could be paired with the Eagle Warriors in some situations, as the two units share similar speed. Like with other foot archers, they are vulnerable to siege weapons, especially Onagers, although to a lesser extent since their 65 HP allows them to take two Onager shots (Siege Onagers still kill them with one payload however), and their speed makes dodging enemy siege attacks significantly easier. Rattan Archers can defeat Plumed Archers with ease, even though the Plumed Archers have decent pierce armor themselves. Elite Skirmishers and Genitours are also cost-effective against Plumed Archers, and are ideal units to spam against them. Composite Bowmen can be threatening to them due to the attack that ignores pierce armor, but the cheaper cost and better range for Elite Plumed Archers can overcome such a disadvantage.
Comparison in the Castle Age[]
 Plumed Archer
|
 Crossbowman
| |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | 44 wood, 44 gold | 20 wood, 36 gold |
| Hit Points | 50 | 35 |
| Movement Speed | 1.2 | 0.96 |
| Armor | 0/1 | 0/0 |
| Pierce Attack | 5 | 5 |
| Attack bonus | +1 vs Infantry +2 vs Spearmen |
+3 vs Spearmen |
| Attack speed | 1.9 | 2 |
| Range | 4 | 5 |
| Accuracy | 80% | 85% |
| Line of Sight | 6 | 7 |
| Upgrade cost and Time |
700 food, 1,000 wood 45 seconds |
450 food, 400 gold 50 seconds |
Comparison in the Imperial Age[]
 Elite Plumed Archer
|
 Arbalester
| |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | 39 wood, 39 gold | 18 wood, 32 gold |
| Hit Points | 65 | 40 |
| Movement Speed | 1.2 | 0.96 |
| Armor | 0/2 | 0/0 |
| Pierce Attack | 5 | 6 |
| Attack bonus | +2 vs Infantry +2 vs Spearmen |
+3 vs Spearmen |
| Attack speed | 1.9 | 2 |
| Range | 5 | 5 |
| Accuracy | 90% | 90% |
| Line of Sight | 6 | 7 |
Further statistics[]
As Plumed Archers are unique to the Mayans, only technologies that are available to them are shown in the following table:
| Strengths and weaknesses | |
|---|---|
| Strong vs. | Infantry, archers, Villagers, Hand Cannoneers, Camel Riders, Mamelukes |
| Weak vs. | Elite Skirmishers, siege weapons, Huskarls, Rattan Archers, Genitours, War Wagons |
| Technologies | |
|---|---|
| Attack |  Fletching (+1) Bodkin Arrow (+1) Bracer (+1) Chemistry (+1)
|
 Range
|
Fletching (+1) Bodkin Arrow (+1) Bracer (+1)
|
| Accuracy |  Thumb Ring (increases accuracy to 100%) Ballistics (hit moving targets)
|
| Armor |  Padded Archer Armor (+1/+1) Leather Archer Armor (+1/+1) Ring Archer Armor (+1/+2)
|
| Conversion resistance |  Devotion (+1 min, +1 max) Faith (+4 min, +4 max) Heresy (die upon getting converted)
|
 Attack speed
|
Thumb Ring (+18%)
|
| Creation speed |  Conscription (+33%) Kasbah (+25%, with a Berber ally only)
|
Civilization bonuses[]
Maya: Plumed Archers are 20%/30% cheaper in the Castle/Imperial Age.
Team bonuses[]
- Britons: Researching Thumb Ring is 10% faster.
- Bulgarians: Researching upgrades at the Blacksmith is 80% faster.
- Lithuanians: Researching Devotion, Faith, and Heresy is 20% faster.
- Malians: Researching Chemistry and Ballistics is 80% faster.
- Portuguese: Upgrades that benefit Plumed Archers are researched 25% faster.
- Saracens: Plumed Archers have +3 attack against standard buildings.
- Teutons: Plumed Archers are more resistant to conversion.
Changelog[]
The Conquerors[]
- Plumed Archers cost 46 wood, 46 gold.
- The upgrade to Elite Plumed Archers costs 500 food, 1,000 wood.
The Forgotten[]
- Plumed Archers cost 50 wood, 50 gold.
- The upgrade to Elite Plumed Archers costs 700 food, 1,000 wood.
Definitive Edition[]
- With update 34055, Plumed Archers cost 55 wood, 55 gold.
Heroes[]
There is one hero in the game with the appearance of a Plumed Archer:
History[]
| “ | The natives of Central America had developed the bow and used it in combat. Their bow technology was not far advanced, however, in comparison to the Asian composite bow or English longbow. Archers could be ordered to wound when capture of enemies was more important than killing. Like all other Mayan warriors, archers wore distinctive costumes so commanders could distinguish their troops and place the right group where needed. The status of archers was low in comparison to other warrior ranks, so men of lower standing and skill entered their ranks. Men of status and ambition joined the ranks of the Eagle Warrior where they could have the opportunity to take captives. The better skilled and experienced bowmen became Elite Plumed Archers. They were especially important when absolute victory was required because they had the ability to kill enemies quickly and break enemy army morale under a barrage of well-aimed arrows. |
” |
Trivia[]
- With just 5, the Plumed Archer is the Castle unique unit with the third lowest base attack, behind the Chakram Thrower with 3 and the Kipchak with 4.
- The Plumed Archer was the first Castle unique unit whose Elite upgrade costs no gold. Since the release of the Definitive Edition, this status now is also held by the Kipchak and Ratha.
- The Mayan unique unit may be appropriately named Holkan (literally "head [of the] serpent" > "warrior"). The Holkans served under the chief Mayan military captain and were only paid while on military campaigns by him or a Mayan town (Christensen 2014:34).
- The Plumed Archer line is the fastest foot archer in the game.
- The Elite Plumed Archer has the highest HP among foot archers, and the non-elite Plumed Archer has the second highest, tied with the Elite Genoese Crossbowman and the Elite Chu Ko Nu.
- The Plumed Archer is the fastest attacking archer unit in the game based on raw stats. It becomes the fourth fastest attacking archer unit considering civilization bonuses (the Mongol Cavalry Archer line, the Mangudai line, and the Ethiopian Archer line precede them).
- The Plumed Archer, the Genoese Crossbowman, the Composite Bowman, and the Chu Ko Nu do not have a visible attack increase after their Elite upgrades (though the attack bonuses of the first two units increase when upgraded).
- The Plumed Archer is the most expensive foot archer (in gold, wood, and combined value) in the game on base cost.
- On release, Plumed Archers were one of the best archer units due to their low cost. While Crossbowmen were cheaper for the Mayans and had more range, the Plumed Archer's faster movement and higher hit points more than compensated. This, combined with the Mayans' great economy and wall discount, made the Mayans' default strategy a Fast Castle into Plumed Archers, and was part of their dominating reputation. After the Definitive Edition, Plumed Archers were considered expensive enough that the standard Mayan Archer line is a better opening.
- Plumed Archers are commonly nicknamed the Native American Cavalry Archer due to its fast speed and hit points. However, they attack faster than most mounted archers but have lower attack vs cavalry. The attack bonus vs infantry makes them equal to the Cavalry Archer line against infantry, and the extra pierce armor makes them equal to the Cavalry Archer line against archers.
Gallery[]
Video[]
